As part of FAFEN’s comprehensive election observation strategy, a long-term observation of critical processes and implementation of laws, rules and regulations was conducted between February and May 11, 2013 — the day elections were held. The observation was carried out at the district level prior to the announcement of the election schedule. Following the announcement of the schedule constituency level observation was initiated in 267 constituency to spearhead the pre-election observation exercise.

The observation plan was by far the most extensive exercise of its kind in the country’s history. In the preelection phase, the observers were stationed in 127 districts and FATA agencies and 267 out of 272 National Assembly constituencies. Five constituencies of Muzaffargarh were not covered in the pre-election observation. The observation was carried out by 128 district long-term observers (DLTOs) and 267 constituency long-term observers (CLTOs). The principle of observation limited the scope of reporting strictly to the events and happenings reported by the observers and/or verified by them.

FAFEN deployed trained, non-partisan observers in 267 out of 272 constituencies across the country. The findings of the observation collected on comprehensive and standardized checklists as well as detailed analysis of official data on registered voters, polling scheme and candidates form the core of this report.

The findings and observations of key processes – where applicable – are preceded by relevant legal, procedural and regulatory frameworks. Recommendations relevant to each section are given at the end of each chapter of 2013 General Election Observation and Analysis of Pre-Election Processes report.

To download this report, click here.